Judaism Unbound

Benay Lappe , founder and rosh yeshiva of SVARA: a Traditionally Radical Yeshiva , returns to Judaism Unbound! She was our first ever guest on this show, in Episode 3: Exodus , and she's returned many times before -- but this time, she specifically is here to reflect on how American-Jewish life has transformed over the course of the past 10 years, since that first appearance.  Love what you hear?...

On October 20th, 2025, Arthur Waskow – a revolutionary activist and teacher of Torah – died at the age of 92. He was an inspiration to our work at Judaism Unbound in more ways than we can articulate. Even as our organization was launched when he was already in his 80s, he found so many ways to collaborate with us and offer his unique forms of Torah to our audiences. He presented at 5 consecutive S...

Should we be reviving the Nazirite vow, a practice that is typically seen as "ancient," "outdated," or "antiquated?" Might it have liberatory potential for Judaism and the world? Xava De Cordova and Michael Sokolovsky of Xai, How are You? join Lex Rofeberg and Rena Yehuda Newman of Judaism Unbound for a crossover episode about Nazirite philosophy, rabbinic agendas, the Kol Nidrei declaration, and...

Frequently you might hear someone claim that a particular Jewish melody is " mi-Sinai" (literally: "from Mount Sinai," implying "dating back to when Moses received the 10 commandments at Mount Sinai")? Mark Kligman , an ethnomusicologist who directs The Lowell Milken Center for Music of American Jewish Experience , joins Dan and Lex to explore what this term illustrates. In doing so, they explore...

We’re thrilled to offer a bonus episode here on our feed, where we shout out an awesome new podcast created by friends of Judaism Unbound. It's called Aderaba: Jewish Studies on the Contrary and it’s co-hosted by Rafe Neis – a past teacher in Judaism Unbound’s UnYeshiva – and Gilah Kletenik. We’re featuring their second episode, entitled What’s Bad about Being in the Image of God , which connects...

Is Jewish music a form of Torah (spiritual wisdom)? Joey Weisenberg , a musician, composer, and founder of  Hadar’s Rising Song Institute , thinks so. He joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about contemporary singing communities, the history of wordless melodies ( nigunim ) and unbound approaches to prayer. This episode is the second in an ongoing mini-series of Judaism Unbound...

Elana Arian , a composer, multi-instrumentalist, and prayer leader, is one of the most important voices in contemporary Jewish music. So when she emailed Judaism Unbound with an entire vision for a mini-series of episodes exploring Jewish music, we of course paid attention! She joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg for a conversation about what the phrase "Jewish music" means, what sacred music does...

Yom Kippur is here! For the past few years, Yom Kippur has been the single most popular day — all year — for folks to listen to Judaism Unbound. To those of you incorporating our podcast into your observance of this holiday, wishing you a beautiful and unbound Yom Kippur. In this episode, Angela Buchdahl -- senior rabbi at Central Synagogue in New York City -- joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg f...

Elul is the 12th and final month of the Jewish calendar year. Elul Unbound is a Judaism Unbound initiative all about making Elul meaningful, through creative digital modalities. In this final Elul episode of 2025 (and 5785), Lex Rofeberg and Wendie Bernstein Lash explore the month (and the upcoming holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur) through the prism of echoes -- the literal sounds they mak...

500!!!! We made it. Somehow, someway, a wild idea that was once a figment of our imagination...has now been around for 500 weeks. In this episode, Dan, Lex, and Miriam celebrate that incredible number -- and take this as an opportunity to look back on the founding and evolution of Judaism Unbound, first as a podcast and then as an organization with many other facets. Miriam, Judaism Unbound's exec...

Elul is the 12th and final month of the Jewish calendar year. Elul Unbound is a Judaism Unbound initiative all about making Elul meaningful, through creative digital modalities. In this episode, Lex Rofeberg and Wendie Bernstein Lash explore the notion of chiasm (for "what is a 'chiasm' -- which is a great question -- click here) , along with what it has to do with the month of Elul and the broade...

Elul is the 12th and final month of the Jewish calendar year. Elul Unbound is a Judaism Unbound initiative all about making Elul meaningful, through creative digital modalities. In this episode, Lex Rofeberg and Wendie Bernstein Lash explore the 13 attributes of mercy, traditionally associated with Elul and the High Holidays. This Elul podcast is the second in a mini-series of four that will be re...

Elul is the 12th and final month of the Jewish calendar year. Elul Unbound is a Judaism Unbound initiative all about making Elul meaningful, through creative digital modalities. In this conversation, Lex Rofeberg and Wendie Bernstein Lash kick off this year's Elul Unbound experience. This Elul bonus episode is the first in a series of four that will be released as part of Elul Unbound 2025 (our 26...

Miriam’s well sustained her people step by step in the wilderness. In this episode of Survival Guide for a Spiritual Wilderness (featuring Judaism Unbound Gemara/commentary from Lex and Rena Yehuda), to tap into this wellspring of belonging. In addition, connect to the Tao de Ching, what it means to be a “Miriam person,” twilight creations, the mystical meaning of wells, Lakewood New Jersey, and a...

Sara Lippman and Seth Rogoff believe that "foundational texts must be read anew or they become tools of conservatism and reaction." But it's not just a belief they hold -- together, they actualized it into a new book, entitled Smashing the Tablets: Radical Retellings of the Hebrew Bible . This book offers a wide variety of new texts, radically revisioning stories from the Bible in many creative fo...

Even the most intimate relationships can experience strain around the topic of Israel-Palestine. Dan and Lex are joined by Amy Eilberg and Penina Eilberg-Schwartz , who share their experience discussing and processing their conversations about Israel-Palestine across generational divides . -------------------------- Judaism Unbound's offerings for 3-week mini-courses in the UnYeshiva are now open...

Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg discuss the inherent potential, along with the limitations, of the Jewish holiday of Tisha B’av (the 9th of Av) — understood by many to be the saddest day on the Jewish calendar. What does it mean to mourn a past pain in the present? In this week’s episode, Dan and Lex consider the meanings of grief and reflection as the month of Av progresses and we move towards the...

For Mandie McGlynn , founder of Selah Spiritual Care, tarot can serve as a deeply meaningful modality for Jewish experience. McGlynn joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg on this week’s episode to discuss her use of tarot as part of the preparatory work of the month of Elul (the on-ramp month before the High Holidays), through an initiative she created called “Turning Toward Life.” This episode is t...

Tarot is known to be a practice of reading, of uncovering important meaning behind the symbols each card evokes. But what if there’s an even deeper, secret connection to not just our lives as a whole, but our lives as Jews? For data scientist and author Stav Appel , happening upon a 17th century forgotten tarot deck took him on a journey through Torah and time. Appel’s Deck and accompanying Bookle...

We are proud to introduce the 3rd podcast in the Judaism Unbound family of podcasts: Survival Guide for a Spiritual Wilderness , hosted by Jericho Vincent.  "We are the ancestors of the future." This new podcast offers a spiritual home for listeners seeking to connect Jewish ancestral, feminist wisdom with their own svara : moral intuition. Each episode of this limited series delves into a differe...

In Pirkei Avot , one can find the Hebrew teaching to “carry the burden with your friend.” In today’s episode, Torah Studio leaders Lexi Kohanski and Liana Wertman join the Judaism Unbound podcast to discuss their latest offerings in keeping with this lesson, including a class on personal torah and stewardship called Trans Torah for Our Terrible Times. They also share ideas regarding what the signi...

Now, we’re down to the marrow. Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg wrap a mini-series dive into the role of meat— and specifically, the pig — in Jewish life. They do this with an assessment of their own eating habits, reflections on autonomy and identity, and thoughts for practitioners the world over on how to incorporate more openness into our understandings of what it means to eat Jewishly. ----------...

We’re back at the trough this week. Author John Efron joins Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg to share some of the findings in his latest book, All Consuming: Germans, Jews, and the Meaning of Meat . Efron encourages us to get on eye-level with the pig, from symbol to sinew, as a vital indicator of eating — and therefore living — Jewishly throughout history. This episode is the 2nd in an ongoing mini-...

Dan Libenson and Lex Rofeberg are joined by author Jordan Rosenblum to discuss his National Jewish Book Award-winning book, Forbidden: A 3,000-Year History of Jews and the Pig . Interested in learning more about why the pig has felt so terribly treyf ( yid. “non-kosher”) all these years? Rosenblum peels back the thick layers of meaning to get to the gristle.  Apply for the UnYeshiva's Certificate...

In moments of polarization, the wisdom of Tehora Hee — the recognition of inviolable goodness in all people—can be a revolutionary tool. In this episode, R' Jericho talks about seventy faces, checking Biblical assumptions, Tehora he (It is pure), pre-prayer tests, two villains from one of my own spiritual wildernesses, Anne Frank, and a practice for bringing Miriam’s living Torah into our own live...